Age-old adage confirmed: Men are better drivers than women, well they think they are

Women consistently rated themselves below men when around 1000 Kiwis were asked to self-rate their driving and parking ability. Photo / 123RF

New Zealand men believe their ability behind the wheel overshadows their partners, who tend to agree, an AA Insurance survey has found.

Around 1000 Kiwis self-rated their driving and parking ability as either "excellent" or "pretty good", and women consistently rated themselves below men.

The 2018 AA Insurance Drivers Survey asked drivers aged over 18, and uncovered that 71 per cent of New Zealanders drive every day.

When it comes to parking, 91 per cent of men rated themselves as confident compared to 75 per cent of women.

Judging their partners' confidence when parking, 69 per cent of men rated their partners as confident and 91 per cent of women rated their partners as confident.

Confidence while driving was more even between the sexes, with 93 per cent of men and 91 per cent of women rating their ability highly.

Only 18 per cent of men, however, thought their partners were excellent drivers, compared to a more generous rating from women of 39 per cent.

AA Insurance customer relations manager Amelia Macandrew said overall most drivers thought they were capable parkers and drivers regardless of gender.

In total 83 per cent of those surveyed believed they were capable parkers and 92 per cent thought they were great drivers.

"However, 16 per cent thought that their partners could do with some improvement for driving, and 20 per cent for parking," she said.

"Fewer thought that they could do with some improvement themselves, at 8 per cent for driving and 15 per cent for parking."

There is a silver lining for women who believe men are being arrogant with their own ability, the survey uncovering they are more likely to have had an accident.

Seventy-three per cent of men had an accident while driving on our roads, compared to only 60 per cent of women.

Macandrew said despite drivers' own confidence, the accident section of the survey highlighted the importance of having automotive insurance.